'My bit in Spike Milligan’s part in Hitler’s downfall'

Karen Dunn

“August 1942, waiting to board the ship. It was a drab England. The Blitz had come and gone but we still observed the blackout.

The invasion scare had passed but we still had barbed wire on many of the beaches. Food was rationed – wisely, since the worst month for shipping losses was two months hence, November 1942. Cigarettes from under the counter – regular customers only – clothing coupons, air raid shelters and sandbags, petrol rationed and signposts removed.”